Reflections
by AZEK38
Summary: What if Beacon had never fallen at the Vytal Festival/Tournament? What if the finale to Volume three and the volumes after that never happpened? Team RWBY and Team JNPR are in their second year of Beacon, and what's the high-tech combat school without some teenager drama? Not to mention the daily issues with being a huntress/hunter.


_Happiness can be found in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light. -Albus Dumbledore  
_  
**Disclaimer: I own ****NOTHING here. Not**** RWBY, and certainly not the characters, or any lore. **

* * *

Chapter 1: A Light in the Dark

"Blake, we're in Emerald Forest, not Mountain Glenn. Relax, jeez." Yang yawned, eyeing her tense partner.

She glared at the blonde. Her ears twitched anxiously beneath her bow."I know that, it's just I'm.." She trailed off. _Afraid something will happen to you. _

Raising an eyebrow, the brawler expectantly stared at the faunus.

"I keep hearing growls, or twigs snapping- and it just..It sets me on edge." Blake half-lied quietly, her amber eyes scanning the forest once more.

"Ohhhh...Old habits kicking in still?" Yang guessed, smiling softly. _Like you're any better sometimes. _She thought, but bit down the retort.

She nodded, a small movement catching her eye. Her eyes narrowed as her ears flicked to yet another sound of the wilderness. Another growl followed by sticks snapping, and leaves rustling. Eyes widening, she unsheathed Gambol Shroud, whirling to face the sound. A black blur leaped out of the foliage, howling in rage. Red eyes gleamed down at her, as it aimed for her throat. Narrowing her eyes, she slid Gambol Shroud into action, blocking the slash from the Beowolf. Jumping back, she broke the struggle, and shifted the chain-scythe into its gun form. Without so much as a second thought, she aimed, and fired, the bullet whirling through air, and slamming into the Grimm's eye, piercing it's skull. Within seconds, it's growl was cut short, and it faded away into nothing but black dust.

Ears swiveling furiously, she turned to face her partner. Blinking, she tilted her head, confused at Yang's shocked expression.

"..What?" She questioned, legitimately confused. Yang only stared. Nervous now, she bit her lower lip, her ears flattening against her head. "Yang I-"

Whatever she was about to say was cut off as Yang burst out laughing. "Blakey, that was amazing!" She exclaimed, grinning.

Bewildered, she shook her head, a small smile forming on her face. "Yeah..I guess it was." Slipping Gambol Shroud back into its sheath, she placed the weapon on her back once more. Walking over to Yang, she sighed.

"Aww~ Blakey, don't look so sad to walk with me in a lovely forest!" Yang grinned, winking. _You little.._

"Yang," She said calmly, eyes narrowing.

"Yes, Blakey?" Yang answered cheerfully, a grin on her face.

"Shut up." Blake growled, resting a hand on Gambol Shroud.

"Shutting up."

Falling in step with the blonde, she resisted the urge to chuckle. Allowing her hand to dangled freely at her sides, she hummed softly. Relaxing, she allowed the tension to leave her shoulders. Glancing up, she looked at the brances criss-crossing across the blue sky, blocking most of it from view. Leaves gently drifted down, floating onto the dirt path. A few minutes passed, them just walking, taking in the view.

_Despite all the Grimm, this place is actually pretty peaceful. Not that'd I ever come here to read. _The faunus mused. _Maybe if the Grimm ever left the forest. _

_SNAP!_

The crack of a twig snapped her out of her thoughts. Ears perking, she reached for Gambol Shroud, her hand resting on the hilt. Yang seemed to sense something was amiss, as she heard the familiar click of Ember Celica shifting into place. Bushes and leaves rustling, more branches snapping, she tensed, her grip tightening. Her eyes narrowed, as she shifted her stance, feet spreading, ready to move at a moment's notice.

A black shape rose from the bushes, roaring furiously. Eyes widening, she leapt to the side, as it charged. _An ursa. _"Yang!" She shouted, whirling to face her partner. More roars, followed by thuds. A furious snarl. Yang was locked in battle with a pack of Beowolves, each growling and snarling. Realization slammed into her. _They were hunting us._

She spotted the Ursa began to charge once more, and she unsheathed Gambol Shroud,

Blake ducked under a slash from an Ursa, ready to deliver a blow of her own, only to have the Grimm shift its weight, and full-on slam into her, roaring. Feeling weightless for a moment, she felt Gambol Shroud fly out of her grasp, and let out a yelp of pain, as she slammed into a tree.

Her vision swam for a moment, and then she went crashing into the ground, the air knocked out of her lungs. Gasping for breath, she dimly realized the Ursa was slowly approaching her, growling as it came closer to its prey. Her ears ringing from the roar at such close-quarters, she couldn't hear anything over the buzzing.

Closing her eyes, she waited for death to strike her down even further. She struggled for breath. Every second hurt. As an agonizing minute passed by, she dimly wondered why the Ursa hadn't killed her yet.

Shakily opening her eyes, she was greeted with the blurry sight of her partner, kneeling over, worry and concern etched into her features. Scarlet was cut across Yang's cheek, fresh but miniature.

"..Ake...E..Ou...Ay?" Yang questioned, her voice shifting in and out of focus as Blake tried to listen to her partner. _What are you saying, Yang? _

Pain struck into her even more, harsher than before. A small whimper escaped her lips, as the unforgiving agony washed over. Shutting her eyes once more, she could faintly make out Yang desperately saying something. Her limbs felt heavy. Even her head felt heavy, and she doubted she could've even lifted it if she tried. Reluctantly opening her eyes, she tried to focus on _something_, _anything_. Blake's efforts were rewarded with the throbbing in her head increasing.

"Blake, come on- Don't sleep on me, silly kitty." Yang begged, grabbing Blake by the shoulders. _At least I can hear you now._

"I thought..I told you to stop calling me that," She rasped, amber eyes glazed over with pain.

Tears appeared in the corner of Yang's eyes. "Stay awake and I will." The blonde whispered, her grip tightening.

The pain behind her eyes suddenly flared, causing her to cry out in pain. Gasping once more, she lashed her hand out for something- anything to grab to lessen the agony in some way. The closest thing being Yang's arm, she grabbed it tightly, squeezing it.

"I-It hurts.." She whimpered.

"I know, Blakey- Just hang on, okay?" Yang muttered soothingly, a small tremor in her voice nonetheless. "Don't close your eyes. I know it hurts, but keep them open, please." She begged.

Gritting her teeth, she tried to follow her partner's request. _Dammit, Yang-  
_  
"I'll get you out of here, okay?" The blonde whispered.

"Okay." She managed, releasing her hold on Yang's arm.

She grunted in pain as Yang grabbed her legs and shoulders and lifted, pulling her into a bridal carry. "G-Gambol.." She murmured, flattening her ears. Her weapon. She needed her weapon.

Yang sighed. "Alright."

* * *

Darkness had fallen. And the pair was still trapped in the Emerald Forest. They were camping in a tree, resting on a very large branch, supported heavily by others. Leaves shielded them from ground view.

Blake's back rested against the tree's trunk, her amber eyes faintly glowed in the dark. The throbbing in her head had finally died down, and she could properly breathe due to her ribs no longer feeling as if they had been broke. They still ached like hell, but not as if a knife was being twisted in her ribcage.

_How far did we even walk from the school? It couldn't have been that far. We'll have to get back sometime tomorrow, right? We should've been back by now though.. _Gazing back at up the sky, she stared at the moon. More than four hours had to have passed, her exhaustion was proof of that. Not that she'd dare tell Yang that. Her partner would likely kill her if she knew. Squinting, she sighed.

Yep. More than four hours had passed. The moon had greatly moved, no longer in the center of the sky as it once had. Now closer to the opposite side of the sky was one indicator. Shaking her head, she blinked, trying to shake the bleariness from her vision. A dull pain reminded her how sensitive her eyes still were.

_I should probably wake Yang- at this rate, I'm going to fall asleep. _She reluctantly admitted to herself. Mentally prepping her tired mind, she raised her voice to a soft whisper. "Yang, get up." She muttered, her voice weak and hoarse from disuse. Ignoring how the sleeping blonde swarmed in and out of focus, she closed her eyes.

The effect was instantaneous. Yang's lillac eyes shot open, staring at Blake. Resisting the urge to collapse there and then, she placed a hand in front of her eyes briefly, facepalming in a sense. "It's your turn for watch." She managed.

The blonde blinked. "Blake? How long-" Yang broke off, staring at her partner.

Whatever she saw must've given the faunus away, because Yang made an angry growl-like noise. Instantly, Yang was sitting up, and sliding over to Blake.

"You're resting. Now." The brawler ordered, her tone leaving no room for argument.

Blake sighed tiredly, bringing the hand down, and staring at her partner, who now sat across from her. "I.. Fine.." She mumbled.

The blonde brightened. "Great! Thought I might have to use my..Other methods." Yang raised her eyebrows suggestively, grinning.

Too exhausted to fire back her usual dry retort, she only gave Yang a tired hum. Closing her eyes briefly, she opened them to see the blonde sitting next to her. Dimly, the rational part of her mind knew what was coming due to memory, but the tired half didn't. So when Yang reached an arm around, and grabbed both of her shoulders, spinning her so her back faced the brawler, saying it was a shock was an understatement.

* * *

Yang let out a soft chuckle, and slowly brought Blake's head to rest in her lap. "Blakey, get some rest, okay?" She whispered.

"Nooo..." Blake groaned, not unlike a small child.

Rolling her eyes, she chuckled. "I _will _get you to sleep, one way or another. Don't make me pull a Port and lecture you to sleep." Slowly, she grabbed at Blake's bow, and began to tug, revealing two furry appendages.

"Yang..Noo..." The faunus groaned, weakly trying to smack Yang's hand away, but to no avail.

"Yang, yes." Yang said cheerfully, reaching her hands up to the top Blake's head, using her thumb, she began to gently rub small, soothing circles on the back of the velvet-like appendages. A tired, quiet purr rumbled, as amber eyes slid shut. Smiling, Yang shifted position, using her nails to softly scratch at the bases, and occansionally moving up and down, working out the stiff clumps of fur that had formed.

She didn't how long passed, but only when the purr began to slow, and Blake's breathing deeped and became even, did she pull away.

"Sleep well, silly kitty." She muttered.

Glancing up, she narrowed her eyes, all cheerfulness forgotten as she scanned the dark forest. It was obvious it had been longer than four hours; Due to the shadows beginning the brighten, and how exhausted Blake had appeared. _Annoying cat took longer on watch than she was supposed to. I'll have Weiss yell at her after we get back. _She mused. Stealing one last glance at her sleeping teammate, Yang cocked Ember Celica, the metal making a soft click as it slid into place.

An hour passed. And then another. And finally, after another long hour, the sun began to rise, the shadows brightening. Yang stretched, popping her neck, and making sure to shake out any remaining awkwardness her limbs possessed.

Blake was still peacefully unaware to the danger around them, fast asleep. Yang felt ready to die of happiness, watching her usually stoic partner smile softly in her slumber.

Feeling like she was about to kick a puppy, Yang sighed, and regretfully gently shook Blake. "Blakey..Get up." Yang muttered, watching as amber eyes fluttered open, unfocused and dazed.

"Yang..?" Blake mumbled, her voice groggy with sleep. The smile was gone, replaced with a confused frown, as she lifted her head to stare at the blonde.

"The one and only," Yang joked. "Now come on, we gotta get going for Beacon." She smiled, resisting the urge to wrap the faunus in a hug, and squeal from how adorable Blake was at that moment.

"Nnn..You do that." Blake grumbled, closing her eyes, and laid her head back down.

"Blake- you.." She broke off, smirking as an idea hit her. "Fine, I'll just play with your ears some more, and we can wait until the Grimm close on our position, and kill us both."

An ear twitched. Yang took that as a sign Blake heard, and nodded. A grunt. The raven-haired faunus slowly sat up, much slower than usual. Amber eyes were fogged over, obviously dazed, yet a determind edge was held. "Lets start towards Beacon." Blake growled, her jaw set.

**_Meanwhile..._**

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THEM SINCE THEY LEFT YESTERDAY!?" Weiss shrieked.

Ruby winced, both internally and out. "Weiss, it's Yang and Blake- I'm sure their fine-"

"Ruby Rose, do _not _lecture me!" Weiss shouted, slamming a heeled-foot against the floor, similar to that of a child.

This was going to be a long day. Oh, irony, sweet, sweet irony loved her today. _I'm so dead..Is this payback for eating all those cookies when I was younger? Dang it, Yang..._

* * *

Groggily, Blake opened her eyes, only to be met with complete darkness. Panic bolting through her, and she cried out in fear. She hadn't ever been blind. Not in her years that she could remember, she hadn't truly been lacking eyesight. Night vision and faunus eyes were a great perk. So waking up to true black- that she couldn't see through? _That _was traumatizing.

"Blake- Blake calm down!" Yang urged, grabbing the faunus by the shoulders.

Blake's ears perked nervously, as she tried to shove down her panic. "I- Yang- W-Why..Can't I..?" She croaked, her voice cracking.

"Shhh...Don't you remember? You're eyes are pretty sensitive to light right now, so we had to blindfold you." Yang soothed softly, rubbing Blake's shoulders gently. "Not to mention all the pain medication we had to give you. You wouldn't stop crying out."

Frowning, she racked her brain, trying to recall the events being mentioned. Nothing. Only the reminder of blinding agony. The rest was a blur. "Sorry.." She mumbled, flattening her ears. Guilt and shame flooded through her. She had bothered Yang just because she couldn't handle a little darkness. She was supposed to be able to handle shadows, but here she was; frightened like a little girl. But why did her partner sound so afraid, despite her apparent calm?

"Hey- Hey. Don't be like that- it's okay. Ruby and Weiss are just outside, waiting to se- talk to you." Yang corrected, as Blake forced a weak smile on her face. _She almost said see. _She realized, it felt like a smack to the face.

"Its okay, Yang. It's just Ruby and Weiss." She sighed, flicking her faunus ears._ It's not okay. How could it possibly be okay!? _She felt the absence of something grabbing her shoulders, and the sound of footsteps slowly leaving the room, signifying Yang had left. Hearing the sound of a door opening, her ears drooped.

The familiar sound of a very _certain _squeak of excitement filled her ears. And, in an instant, she felt herself wrapped in a hug.

"Blakeeee!" Ruby squealed, wrapping the cat faunus tighter into the embrace. "They wouldn't let us see you! Yang had to threaten to beat up-" A very loud, pointed cough interrupted the brunette's explaination.

She chuckled. "Sounds..About right." _Why didn't you fight harder? I needed you here. _She thought somberly.

"You dolt, they had every reason to not let us see Blake! She was unconscious for one, so it wouldn't have helped any- and for Oum's sake, it would've only worried you!" Weiss scolded, or what Blake could only assume was the icy heiress. _Gee, thanks Weiss. __Doesn't mean I wouldn't have appreciated it._

It hadn't been fun, waking up to nothing but dark, and only hearing Yang. It had hurt her pride far more than she would ever admit. Not that she'd tell Weiss that. Or Ruby. The two would only drown themselves in guilt, which was something the faunus really didn't need or want.

"Well..You're here now, right..?" She mumbled, half to herself, half to the others. _Please, take the hint, please take the hint. _

"OH- Blake Belladonna, in all my years of living upon Remant, I have never met somebody so..So.." Weiss shrieked, practically sputtering with rage. _Nevermind.._

"Sarcastic?" Blake offered dryly, glancing at where she could hear her ivory-haired teammate. Internally, she was screaming.

"Reckless!" She shouted. "Yang is a horrible influence!"

Blake winced. _Is this what Ruby feels like? _A small squeak from her leader releasing her told the faunus everything. _Yep. It totally is._

"Weiss I-"

"Ah-pup-pup-pup! Blake, you need to start being more careful! Did you not think to call us?" Weiss interrupted.

She closed her mouth. _Er.. _"Hypothetically, if I said no..?" She muttered nervously, twitching an ear. She cringed at the outraged sound emitting from Weiss. _Crap._

"Okayyy- Weiss, let's go before you injure Blake even further!" Ruby exclaimed quickly.

Blake flattened her ears, listening as Weiss and Ruby hurried out of the door, a shuffling sound obviously signifying more dragging then walking involved in the action. The click of the door sounded, followed by the shuffling of it closing.

Sighing, she slumped in the bed, head against a pillow, staring up at the celling. _This has got to be the worst form of torture I've ever experienced. _The temptation to tear off the blindfold briefly came to her, but she quickly shut down _that_. Dimly, she registered how ironic this all was. Here she was, a faunus with night vision, unable to see through a simple blindfold.

Groaning, she closed her eyes. "This sucks." She grumbled glumly. Ears perking, she simply listened to the sounds around her. It wasn't like she had anything else to do.

Waiting a few minutes, Yang gently cracked the door open, staring at her partner. The faunus appeared to be sleeping, although it was difficult to tell with such a distance, and cloth over Blake's eyes. Sighing, she closed the door, turning away to face Weiss and Ruby.

"She's absolutely miserable, isn't she?" Weiss guessed.

Yang grit her teeth, narrowing her eyes. "Gee, Weiss, I never noticed." She said sarcastically.

Ruby sighed. "Guys, guys. Please don't fight. We're all worried about Blake. Please, guys?" The younger girl begged, her eyes pleading.

She sighed. "Yeah. Sorry, Rubes." Running a hand through her hair, she let out a frustrated groan. "I'm scared for Blake," she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. "What if she doesn't get better? What if she never sees again?" Yang croaked. Tears gathered in the corners of her eyes.

Silence.

Nobody wanted to breach that subject. Nobody wanted to confront that. Nobody wanted to think about _Blake _being unable to see forever. Especially if it meant the faunus lost her place on the team. Because who had ever heard of a hunter who was fully blind, without a semblance to help them?

"We'll...We'll cross that bridge when it comes to that." Weiss murmured, light blue eyes filled with emotion, fragile, like two panels of glass, ready to shatter at the drop of a hat.

Yang nodded slowly, her eyes briefly flashing crimson. Signifying her emotional state. "We..We aren't telling her. Agreed?" She muttered softly.

Ruby's usually cheerful silver orbs were dull for once. "Agreed..." The leader whispered glumly.

"Agreed." Weiss sighed.

* * *

Inside the room, behind the closed door, in the bed, Blake felt like her heart was being torn to shreds, and then ripped apart again. People underestimated faunus hearing. A closed door and lowered voices helped quite a bit, but not much. She heard much more than her teammates thought.

Blake reached a hand up, and reaching behind her head, she fumbled with the knot, trying to untie it. Feeling stupider by the moment, she growled in frustration. Finally, getting the knot, she undid the blindfold, allowing it to slip down, off her face. No change. Nothing. She saw the same darkness, and not a single pain flared in her eyes, even as she opened them. She felt an sob escape her lips, without warning. Sitting up, she ignored how her limbs screamed in protest, and buried her head between her knees, trying to choke down her sobs.

Her partner, her best friend, and her teammate had lied straight to her face. And it hurt more than anything. _Yang _had lied to her.

* * *

**Oh Blake. Poor, poor Blake. I feel kinda bad actually. Originally, I was going to get Second Chances up first. But Er..Didn't quite work. You guys are probably wondering how Blake lost her vision, for possibly forever, and don't worry, I'll get to that. Chapters should be longer, however, I just wanted to get a story out before Endgame came out. And before next week. Plus, I felt as thought this was a good spot to leave off.**

**On the topic of lost vision though, I honestly believe the worst form of punishment, in my opinion, next to losing a loved one, that could happen to a fighter of some sort, would be to lose your vision permanently.**** Anyways, I can't give any definite dates on when things would be published, seeing as more than half the stuff I write I keep buried in a deep dark corner in my computer.**

**I feel like Blake is easier to write about. Just..Once you listen to her enough, you catch a pattern. Yang's a bit more difficult. She could either be really cheerful- or really depressed or angry. It could go three ways easily. So actually, I take that back, Yang's fun to write. And no, I'm not going to make Blake and Yang this stupid for all my of other fics. Just this one chapter. Looking back at my script I have written out, I might wanna get into a bomb shelter, and never, ever come back out. ...I'm going to die writing this out.**

**Looking at that last sentence though, all I can think is: KARMA HITS HARD. And then I smack myself in the head. Like jeez, Reflections was supposed to be cheerful with some good angst on occansion. Guess that got scrapped.**


End file.
